


Don't Die Before I Do

by Zetran



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M, Twincest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-05
Updated: 2013-09-22
Packaged: 2018-01-26 06:39:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1678445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zetran/pseuds/Zetran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twins Sephiroth and Jenova have nobody but each other to get through the pain of experimentation by Hojo's hands. Despite all of the physical hurt and hardships, the two become closer and closer - eventually too close.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Birth

18 December 1966

Since 1961, numerous attempts to create an artificial child to test the new discoveries made on Mako energy and its effect on humans have failed. All of the fetuses and the majority of the surrogate mothers that were assigned to the project perished. It wasn't until Professor Gast, aided by Professor Hojo, decided to change the schedule and amount of Mako administration on a natural pregnancy that success had been found. Lucrecia Crescent, having been impregnated by Turk prodigy Vincent Valentine, willingly offered her unborn child to the project, much to the outraged protests of the father. Light doses of Mako were injected into the womb, and strict monitoring of the fetus's development was conducted. Soon enough, it was discovered that Lucrecia was having not one child, but _two_. It increased the chances of having at least one survive the real tests once they were conducted, increased the success rate, and increased the outbursts coming from Valentine.

Now was the time to see the fruits of the nine-month long bickering, worrying, monitoring, and anticipation. Lucrecia screamed and took quick, shallow breaths, the birthing process of her first child taking a lot of energy out of her. Valentine had not been informed of when Lucrecia was to be induced; Hojo deliberately kept the Turk in the dark to avoid any complications the man would no doubt create.

"Push now," Gast instructed calmly from the edge of the makeshift hospital bed. Lucrecia complied, albeit hesitantly, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her teeth as another intense wave of pain hit her. She fell back against the uncomfortable white mattress, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"One more, just one more," Gast urged. With a final scream, Lucrecia pushed again, and a cry not her own filled the basement of the Shinra mansion. Gast quickly cut the umbilical cord, and handed the infant to a lab tech standing nearby. The child was whisked away to get cleaned up, and Hojo hastily documented the child's information.

_Subject MK-28041/_

After the slash, Hojo left the space blank for whatever the specimen was to be named.

_Sex: Male_

_Hair Color: What appears to be white_

_Eye Color: Blue. May be subject to change._

The specimen's height and weight were also documented, and Hojo eagerly studied the second specimen, this one female. Other than the gender, the only piece of information different from the first child was the serial number: _MK-28042/_

"Let me see them," Lucrecia pleaded between pants.

"Not now," Hojo snapped. "We need to see if the experiments live past the longest amount of time it took for the failures to die. Then the tests can begin."

Gast and Lucrecia gazed at Hojo, the former with disapproval, and the latter with shock.

"Hojo," Gast said warningly, "they're only newborns. We can't risk the testing so soon after birth."

"We only need one of specimens to survive," Hojo argued. "Preferably the female."

"I don't want either of them to die!" Lucrecia yelled suddenly. "Let me see them!"

"Absolutely no human contact other than what is necessary. The past failures of Mako tests have shown increases in strength, speed, stamina, and healing. The specimens will be unstoppable without petty human emotions." Hojo nearly spat the last three words. "A living super-weapon that can lead Shinra to the Promised Land, to find a large quantity of even richer Mako cannot afford to be handicapped in such a way."

Gast presented his argument to Hojo before Lucrecia could. "The children – not specimens – _are_ human. And, like humans, they have emotions and need a variety of things other than food, water, and oxygen."

A verbal fight broke out between the two bespectacled scientists, Lucrecia trying to make her way out of bed towards her children only to be held down by lab techs. She craned her neck, catching a glimpse of one of her babies suckling ravenously from a bottle before being placed into a clear, plastic bassinet separate from its sibling's.

Without warning, the door to what lay outside the basement burst open, an angry Vincent Valentine stepping through. He first noticed Lucrecia's fearful gaze, then the surprised looks on Hojo and Gast. The two bundles covered up in a very thin blanket twitching as if having a fit were the last to catch his attention, and he made his way to investigate his new children, pulling out a handgun and pointing it at Hojo before the dreadful, greasy-haired man could protest. Vincent carefully shifted the gun to his left hand before picking up the child closest to him with his right. He slowly handed the baby to Lucrecia, picking up the other and cradling him or her close to himself, again pointing the gun at anybody that tried to say or do something against his actions. He double checked to make sure the safety was off.

"Vincent... I-I'm so sorry..." Lucrecia choked out, tearing up as she finally realized what she was doing by giving up the small lives to the Science Department, by dooming them to a cruel fate for the Shinra company's gain. The damage had already been done; the twins' hair looked white, pure white, most definitely a side effect from the Mako.

Vincent eyed the bracelet loosely sealed around his child's right hand, his anger rising when he read a serial number instead of a name.

"...twenty-eight zero forty-two..." Disbelief coated his words. Even if neither of the children were his own, he would never have accepted such a thing – what was wrong with these people?!

"That – _she_ ," Gast corrected when Vincent shot him a dirty look, "is the female. The other is male."

So now he was the father of both a son and a daughter... When Vincent had learned of Lucrecia's pregnancy, he was shocked, almost petrified of the future. He didn't know anything about being a father; didn't think he was capable of being one. However, he vowed to do the best he could for his child, to be there for him or her, and he extended that promise to both of his children once it was revealed that Lucrecia was expecting twins.

Lucrecia took all of that away from him when she volunteered the children to what Vincent felt was a lost cause. He would never, ever forgive her for that.

"The twins are mine," Vincent said firmly. "I want full custody of them." He was not going to lose his son and daughter; he would either have things his way or die trying.

"The experiments belong to Shinra now. More specifically, Project C."

Vincent nearly pulled the trigger on Hojo right then and there.

"W-what?" Lucrecia tightened her hold on her son. Her eyes were wide.

"It's too late to back out now, _Doctor_ Crescent," Hojo said condescendingly, making sure to insert a mocking tone onto Lucrecia's title. The hated man didn't react when Vincent stepped closer with the gun.

The bundle in Vincent's arm squirmed and began to cry, bringing him out of the haze of red engulfing his vision. He shushed his daughter, rocking her side to side to try to calm her down. The cries continued, his daughter's twin brother joining in.

"No matter what you say, these children belong to me," Vincent pressed. "I am their father; they are my daughter and son."

"I'm afraid you'll have to consult the president about that," Gast said with sympathy. "But, Vincent, the children are a real breakthrough. Think of how they'll be able to aid Shinra's advancement in Mako and the Promised Land."

That was the wrong thing to say. "No child deserves what they will be put through!" Vincent had been given a vague idea of what the tests were going to be like: painful injections, the burning of Mako from both the injections and from being bathed in the liquid poison, the possibility of being cut open – thinking of it all made Vincent nauseous and horrified. "I _will_ speak to the president as soon as possible and I _will_ gain custody of my children," Vincent said with confidence. He rocked his daughter again, becoming less tense when she finally quieted. It seemed that if one twin stopped crying, the other would, too, as her brother became silent as well.

Hojo sneered, but said nothing.

Feeling sure that no one would come after him, Vincent stuck his gun into his holster, making sure the safety was back on first. Gast visibly calmed, as well as the three lab techs that crowded the far corner by the two adult-sized tubes meant for exposing a person to large amounts of Mako.

Vincent stepped closer to Lucrecia, passing the child in his arms to her free arm.

"You..." Lucrecia began, "You should be the one to name them."

Whether her statement was made because she wanted to distance herself from the children or as a way of apology for the choice she had made, Vincent did not know, but he was not going to refuse her offer.

Vincent took a few minutes to think, wanting to give his children a unique name. "You," he said directly to the daughter he had held, "are Jenova." A name he'd never heard from anyone else, but one that he thought was beyond satisfactory. "And you are Sephiroth," he said to his son.

Vincent swore to do whatever he could for Sephiroth and Jenova, not only because he wanted to prevent their fate from happening, but also because, deep down, he knew that part of it was his fault. None of this would have happened if he had tried harder to convince Lucrecia not to go along with her choice, if he had skipped out on the multiple missions intentionally assigned to him to keep him away.

If anyone was to blame, Vincent had to have an equal amount of it as Lucrecia, possibly even more. He already had several sins weighing down on him, and he was determined to prevent any more from coming.

* * *

Notes:

Idea conceived: 2013年5月4日（土）

Started: 2013年5月5日（日）

Finished: That same day

I normally don't post warnings in a story since I like to keep whatever happens next a surprise, but this will definitely be a read-at-your-own-risk kind of story. There will be eventual twincest (please look the up the term if you don't know its meaning), and I may or may not post a quick warning of when it happens; I'm making no promises. Don't take the fake science and biology too seriously. This won't be a very happy fic, either, and there will be blood. Lots of it.


	2. Injections

23 December 1966

Vincent spent nearly all the time he was at Nibelheim standing guard over his children, making sure that nobody approached them whether the intentions were good or bad. He had fed and changed them himself, not trusting even the lab techs. Lucrecia had stayed further away, even after she had recovered from the birth, and Vincent suspected that she was also afraid to talk to him on top of coping with what she had done. He hadn't tried to interact with her, instead placing all of his attention on Sephiroth and Jenova.

Gast hadn't seemed to mind Vincent's presence, though Hojo was the complete opposite. The threat of being shot by Vincent's gun had been the only thing keeping the scientist away, but even that seemed to lose its effect as the days passed.

Now, Vincent stood before President Shinra, ready to present his argument. Lucrecia stood nearby by the wall, and Hojo took his place to the right of Vincent. It was better for Hojo to be back in Midgar than Gast, though Vincent would rather that the both of them were here. The twins couldn't be moved by helicopter, the quickest form of transportation available, and Vincent unwillingly left them behind with Gast, taking relief in the fact that Gast wasn't anywhere near the monster Hojo was.

"The tests my son and daughter will undergo if this 'project' continues will be cruel, and I refuse to let it happen. As is already known, I am the biological father and I demand full custody of my children," Vincent said.

"And does the mother agree with allowing you to have the custody?" the president asked. Hope nearly filled Vincent, but he couldn't consider himself the victor just yet. The president had not heard Hojo's part of the debate yet, and the former wasn't going to make a decision after hearing only Vincent out.

"Y-yes," Lucrecia said. Hearing her voice, Vincent could swear she had flinched. "I do," she said with more confidence.

"Very well." President Shinra unclasped his hands and laid them down on the desk. "And what exactly would we lose if Valentine were to gain his custody?"

Vincent abhorred the president's wording. That man was a greedy one, making decisions based on what was best for _himself_. There was no such thing as "we" with the president, but the term, along with the rest of the sentence, made it obvious that he was more biased towards Hojo.

Hojo adjusted his glasses before beginning with, "The previous specimens, or _failures_ , as the more accurate term is, perished no more than forty-eight hours after birth. The average amount of time taken for the natural births that didn't immediately yield a failure took forty-two hours to die, despite the specimen being as healthy as can be; the artificial wombs, placed into a surrogate or otherwise, didn't survive as long, the average time being less than thirty hours. Subject MK-12896 became the miraculous case that lasted nearly forty-eight hours before suddenly perishing. However, the two current specimens are alive and well to this day, and they show quite a lot of promise to the future of the project. Gast and I have reason to believe that both of the specimens will continue to survive." Hojo held his arms behind his slightly hunched back, finished with his report.

"I see. With the success of Project C, Project Cetra, we will finally have two Ancients to lead Shinra Electric Company to the Promised Land instead of one. Since it is an unsettled land, the Mako there will be plentiful, thus allowing the company to expand," the president said, evidently thinking out loud. "What's more, with the current discoveries on Mako's effect on humans, Shinra can have two super-weapons as defense. We would be unstoppable..." President Shinra paused. "Wouldn't you agree that that would be a lot to throw away, Valentine?"

Vincent grit his teeth, digging his nails into the palms of his finger-less gloves. "I don't care! They're human beings and don't deserve the cruelty and pain that will come from this!"

"Remember who you're talking to, Valentine." The president stood up from his seat and strode to the windows behind his large desk, peering through them at the cloudless sky. "The future of the company will lie in the hands of the Science Department."

Vincent mentally called the president every filthy name in the book and then some. He reached into his holster before remembering that his weapon had been confiscated prior to his entering of the president's office. "You can't do this! I won't let you!" he yelled, not heeding the president's warning. He rushed towards the stout man, fighting off the Turks that tried to restrain them, but there were too many ganging up on him at the same time, too many holding him back. He thrashed and tried everything he could, but to no avail. His fellow Turks were a little less stronger than him, but there was no way he could fight them all off at once, especially without his gun.

"Take him to the prison cells until further notice," Shinra commanded.

Digging his heels into the metal floor, Vincent continued his fight. As he was dragged away against his will, he caught the sight of Lucrecia. Tears ran down her countenance, and she did nothing to stop them.

* * *

26 January 1967

Professor Gast held Sephiroth as he administered the first Mako injection, pressing the plunger down as quickly as he deemed safe for the squirming child. He placed the baby back in his bassinet before moving on to Jenova. Gast was tempted to give her an even lighter dose after seeing Sephiroth twitch and cry uncontrollably, but didn't. Reports from the previous volunteers injected with Mako included the sensation of burning alive, nausea, involuntary movement, and the inability to move, in some cases. The effects, besides the enhancements the injections would provide later on, are inevitable. The amount of Mako in the syringe was the lowest possible, anyways, and it was the only amount Gast agreed to inject.

Jenova was much more vocal about her pain, nearly deafening Gast with her screams. The urge to take her and her brother and hold them close to comfort them was strong, but it would not do much. Instead of placing Jenova in her own seperate bassinet, Gast gently put her down next to Sephiroth, who had already stopped moving so much.

The cries died down a little, and the twins were at peace, for the most part. Gast wrapped two blankets around each of the babies, the cold from the mountainous Nibelheim seeping into the basement. The two eventually stopped moving but continued breathing, albeit slowly. The burning must have subsided.

Hojo documented the dosage and outward reactions of the twins, a pleased smile making itself known on his features. Gast nearly shuddered, and made a note to push the feeding time back by an hour to avoid complications from the nausea side effect.

Gast and Hojo waited two weeks before deeming the injections a success. The children – or specimens, as Hojo knew them as – were going about the day like normal. The dosage increased as Sephiroth and Jenova grew, and by the time they were three, they were able to give some insight on how they felt during and after the injections. The symptoms were always the burning, though they sometimes alternated between involuntary jerking and lethargy.

In Midgar, Vincent tried all he could to leave the city, Lucrecia doing whatever she was able to to try to help him, and in Nibelheim, Gast was kept on his toes preventing Hojo from conducting any tests on the children's healing abilities. The man wanted to cut them and see how long it would take for the wound to heal. Gast would have none of that cruelty inflicted on the twins, and many arguments over the matter broke out. Sephiroth and Jenova weren't completely oblivious to the arguments, but they didn't know much other than Gast and the terrible Hojo were always fighting.

The only thing Sephiroth and Jenova truly feared other than Hojo were the Mako injections. Once 1973 rolled around with the disappearance of Professor Gast, however, they faced the horrors that nobody would ever protect them from, that would drastically change the two.

* * *

Notes:

Started: 2013年5月11日（土）

Finished: 2013年5月12日（日）

Needless to say, everything gets worse from here on. For some reason, I find myself replaying the song Halleluja by Rammstein over and over. The lyrics don't match up with the story, but the music itself seems to. :/

Right, better go back to working on _Doll_. This is the second time in a row that I worked on this story in the middle of writing the other. O_o


	3. Drowning

30 March 1970

The thick green water poured into the cramped tank, filling the entire tank in less than a minute. Too fast, it filled up way too fast for Sephiroth, and he choked on the green water, coughing and sputtering until his lungs burned. His breathing slowed drastically, and his chest hurt with a dull yet stinging pain as the Mako traveled in and out of his lungs, feeling as if he was being injected with a lot of shots at the same time. He clawed and pounded at the glass as hard as he could, but his hits were reduced to taps. Through the watery green haze, he could see his sister strapped down on the lab table, kicking and screaming for the white coat people to let her and Sephiroth go.

Suddenly, a loud noise boomed, and now his ears were hurting along with the rest of his body.

"Be still," Hojo snapped. His presence had a greater effect than his muffled command; Sephiroth tried to shrink away from him, but the burning – the horrific burning that hurt so much more than when he had to get injected – and the limited space prevented him from moving. Jenova looked as terrified as he felt and yelled louder and harder, stopping abruptly when Hojo walked over to reprimand her.

Gast had said that they weren't going to poke him and his sister today. Sephiroth and Jenova thought that they didn't have to do get poked or hit Banini the dummy. The poking hurt a lot and made Sephiroth feel extremely sick afterwards, and Banini hurt his hand the harder he hit it, and Hojo always forced Sephiroth to hit the dummy as hard as he could. Jenova had to hit Banini, too, and she once made her hand bleed. Gast had wrapped a bandage over her hand and Sephiroth tried to touch it to make it feel better, but only made it hurt more.

Sephiroth trusted Gast. Mean Hojo always called him and his sister names like Specimen, Boy, Girl, and Little Monsters, but Gast didn't. He was always nice and helped make them feel better after they got poked.

But now, Sephiroth wasn't so sure what to think about Gast. Instead of being left alone, he had his clothes taken off by the white coat people and was tossed into the tank. Jenova had kicked at the tank to try to get Sephiroth out, and then the white coat people had taken her and strapped her to the table so she couldn't move.

The Mako hurt every single part of his body: his skin burned and movement irritated it even more; his hands, fingers, feet, and toes felt like they had hit and kicked Banini a hundred times; and his eyes felt heavy. The more he blinked, the harder it was to keep them open. His vision grew more and more black, and soon he couldn't open his eyes anymore. He still felt everything, but he could no longer move and was limited to breathing the Mako in and out. It continued for what felt like forever. In, out. In, out.

An explosion of hurt erupted through Sephiroth's entire body as he fell forward when the Mako drained. He couldn't manage a single sound, nor could he open his eyes. Somebody held him gently and laid him out onto the metal lab table, which nearly froze his back. The voices around him were rushed and unintelligible.

He finally screamed when his arm was prodded. His cry was weak, but the pain was strong, and it was nothing like he had ever felt before. He felt so very alone – where was his sister? In the midst of all the pokes, prods, painful sensations, and unclear noises, there was no clue as to her whereabouts.

Slowly, the voices gained clarity. The first thing he heard was, "Is he dead?"

"No, sweetheart. Don't touch him," the voice – Gast's – said suddenly. "He's hurting a lot."

"Wake up!" Jenova's voice rang loudly in his ear. "Stop sleeping!"

Sephiroth wanted to tell her very badly that he wasn't sleeping, that he just couldn't move. His body wasn't functioning well enough for him to even speak, though he did manage to wiggle a finger or two, and the sluggish feelings were slowly wearing off. The pain, however, stubbornly clung to him like a parasite and discouraged him from moving.

A small touch on his hand burned him and made him jerk, yet it also soothed him at the same time. Sephiroth easily recognized his sister's attempts at comforting him.

"N-no... va..." Sephiroth mumbled.

"How are you feeling, Sephiroth?" There was a curious tone in Gast's question; that had been the first time that Sephiroth had been subjected to this form of Mako administration, and, judging from the times where Sephiroth was usually tested on first, Jenova was going to have her turn once he got better.

"Hurt..."

"How and where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere... like fire. Make it stop," Sephiroth pleaded.

"It will all go away," Gast reassured. "Just like the needles. The sickness always goes away."

"Are you going to poke him?" Sephiroth cracked an eye open and could vaguely make out his sister's horrified expression right next to his face. She could barely reach the top of the table without standing on tiptoe. "Don't poke him!"

"He won't have any injections for a while," Gast promised.

Sephiroth felt one of his eyes get peeled open and was almost blinded by a bright light which seemed to have a much stronger beam intensity than usual. That part of the routinely check-ups done after the injections was over with quickly, and Sephiroth was left in peace for a few minutes. He finally regained control of his muscles, and he sat up, almost falling back to the table after going through a small dizzy spell.

The burning took an eternity to fade away into a ghost of what it had been, and with its leaving came the sickness. Now it was his stomach's turn to burn, and Jenova held his hair back and rubbed him while he threw up bright green liquid. It felt horrible and looked horrible; Sephiroth never ever wanted to see the color green again. He never wanted to be placed into the tank again, and when Jenova had to go through his pain and fear a few days later, Sephiroth tried everything he could to stop the white coat people, Hojo, and Gast from putting her through it all.

Sephiroth didn't know what made him feel worse: being put in the tank, or watching every emotion Jenova revealed before suddenly growing still.

* * *

Notes:

Started: 2013年5月20日（月）

Finished: 2013年5月21日（火）

Two things:

One: The next chapter will be more lighthearted.

Two: I'm going to take a small hiatus from all of my stories. I should be back by the end of next week or sometime during the week after. I've been feeling super tired lately and I think I need a small break.


	4. The Tin of Peppermints

3 April 1970

Sephiroth helped walk his sister up the spiral staircase and out of the basement. Her sickness had finally passed, but she was still feeling weak and her legs wobbled dangerously, threatening to give out.

Gast held Jenova's left side, giving her encouragement and blocking the unprotected part of the wooden coiled path that led, depending on how close to the second floor of the Shinra mansion you were, to a long and most likely fatal fall.

The wall to the surface came into view, and Gast opened the secret door which stuck out from the rest of the house like a broken finger. He gently laid Jenova down onto the nearest bed and straightened her body out into a comfortable position. Sephiroth sat on the bed next to his twin sister, holding onto her hand in an attempt to take her mind off of the lingering burning.

"Does it still hurt?" Gast asked, concerned.

"Tummy..." Jenova said weakly. Much like Sephiroth, she had thrown up nearly everywhere, and it was a full eternity later that she was finally able to stop. Seeing her, even now as she lay there, exhausted, Sephiroth could feel the aches and burns creeping along his skin, and he shivered. Jenova seemed to have fared no better than he had, but, as Gast soothed him and his sister, Sephiroth could finally think, at least for that day, that it was over, finally over...

* * *

It was over, finally over – for now. There would be more injections, maybe even more sessions where Jenova and her brother would have to stand inside the Mako tanks, but no more, no more until later – much much later, hopefully. Jenova knew what came next, what always came after the tests were done.

Sephiroth helped Jenova sit up, though she didn't need the assistance, and he kept his hand entwined with hers while they slid off the bed to follow Gast down to the ground floor.

They stopped at a spacious room occupied only by a piano and a round table covered by a flowing white table cloth and surrounded by three chairs. Hojo never came out of the basement for any reason, and Jenova couldn't really comprehend why, but that was fine by her. The less she and Sephiroth saw of him, the better.

Climbing into their chairs, the twins peered longingly out the window. Hojo refused to let them outside, and many spats between him and Gast broke out over the matter, with Gast unable to convince Hojo to allow the siblings to have even a fleeting moment of experiencing the outside world. There was no limit to where Sephiroth and Jenova could be while inside the mansion, and while the mansion was large enough to explore several times over, the everyday mundane meals that never changed, the monotonous repetition of their daily activities was quite...boring. Not that Sephiroth or Jenova would complain out loud, in fear of facing the wrath of Hojo, but that didn't stop them from repeatedly asking and nearly begging to go outside.

On the table, Professor Gast placed a round green tin with dark golden-like patterns trimming the sides and what looked like a flower on the surface of the lid. This is what Jenova always looked forward to, what was the light at the end of the tunnel for her.

Gast opened the tin of peppermints and passed it to the children, offering the candy to each of them. Just seeing that tin was comforting to Sephiroth, and was a special moment to Jenova. It told her that, despite the hurt, there was always something there for them to make them feel better, that Gast would always be there for them, and that they weren't alone, with just each other. Jenova was, just like her brother, still slightly hurt by Gast's actions after he had promised no injections, but the tin of peppermints wasn't tarnished, not in Jenova's eyes. The minty taste had the same freshness and wasn't changed or tainted in the least.

"I have a surprise for you two," Professor Gast said, breaking the brief spell of silence. He continued after receiving attentive looks from the twins, "You can finally go outside tomorrow."

Jenova looked at Sephiroth, and she could tell that he was just as excited as she was.

"It's only fair that you two see what the outdoors is like at least once before we move."

The excitement melted and was replaced with curiosity.

"We're moving?" Sephiroth asked.

"Where?" Jenova joined in.

"When?" Sephiroth asked the final question on their minds.

Gast chuckled. "In a few weeks from now, we'll be moving to Midgar."

"Where's that?" Sephiroth asked.

"What's that?" Jenova inquired.

"It's an enormous city in the Eastern Continent. We're in the Western Continent, which is quite a long way from Midgar's location," Gast added. "There will be a lot to see; the city is nothing like this little old town."

"Tell us more!" Jenova exclaimed.

"During dinner time. How is your stomach feeling?"

"Better now." A dull burn clung in the deep pit of Jenova's stomach, but it was an uncomfortable ache instead of a painful hurt.

"Good, good. I'll need a blood sample after dinner to check your Mako levels."

The prospect of needles didn't sit well with Jenova, but the regular blood tests were nowhere near as bad as the actual injections.

* * *

Sephiroth shifted, unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in. He heard rustling, then the soft sounds of his sister's footsteps crossing over to his bed. He scooted over to the right to give room for Jenova to climb in with him.

"I can't sleep," Jenova whispered excitedly.

"I want to go outside, too," Sephiroth whispered back.

"Do you think Midgar will be..."

"...fun? I don't know, but it sounds like it."

"It sounds kind of scary." Jenova fingered the bandage on her arm. "Like there's needles waiting for us there. But Gast is going, right?"

"I think so."

"Then we'll..."

"...be okay."

"Yeah, we should."

"Nova?"

"Hm?"

"What if..."

"...there was no more Hojo?"

"It would be better, right?" Sephiroth started to get sleepy. He brushed a hand against his eye.

Jenova yawned. "Yeah..."

* * *

Notes:

Started: 2013年6月6日（木）

Finished: 2013年6月7日（金）

This story... Gah, it's got most of my attention! This is the third time I've worked on it in the middle of writing something else. I think it's because of what will eventually happen that this story stays in my mind. Things considered taboo seem to be all the more fascinating, don't they?

Well, I'm back! I've been replaying Final Fantasy VII on my PlayStation, and I've just discovered how much I missed it. *swoons* It's a bit of a distraction, though. XD


	5. Fault

4 April 1970

The greenery struck Sephiroth with more awe than it had when he only had a window to look out of. He and his sister stepped out slowly, almost hesitantly, stopping when they were off the mansion steps. He spotted the gate and ran towards it, holding onto the bars and pressing his face close to them to look outside.

"The gate is as far as you can go, I'm afraid." Sephiroth didn't turn as he heard Gast's footsteps on the grass.

"But why?"

"The gate was as far as I could negotiate with Hojo. I'm sorry, children."

After a moment of disappointed silence, Jenova said, "At least we get to go outside." She didn't sound too happy about the statement, though.

Sephiroth pulled away from the gate, tromping through the grass and exploring the limited area he and his sister were allowed to be in. He spotted a tree and approached it, touching the trunk.

"It's hard," Jenova said, patting the tree trunk. "Like Banini."

Sephiroth stopped touching the tree. He didn't want to be reminded of the dummy he and his sister were forced to hurt themselves with. To forget the image of bloodied knuckles and the feeling of broken hands, he looked down at the grass, marveling at how it felt soft under his shoes. He bent over and plucked a handful, rubbing it between his palm and fingers.

"Look, Nova," Sephiroth called, pointing at a cluster of small, white flowers. She came over from her spot under the tree and looked very closely at the flowers, nearly falling over into them. She picked one, holding it to her nose and sniffing, passing the flower over to Sephiroth for him to sniff.

Gast chuckled at them. "I suppose I can leave you two here for a moment or two. I need to check on some records. Can you be good and stay right here?"

"Okay," Sephiroth said, his attention still focused on the flower. It was so small, easily fitting into his sister's hand. He let go of the grass he held and took the flower from his sister, accidentally yanking on it and ripping part of the stem off.

By then, Gast had already went back into the mansion. He didn't see or hear Jenova cry out in indignation.

"Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry!" Sephiroth said quickly. "Here." He went back to the cluster and picked another flower, giving it to Jenova.

Jenova started, seeing something rustle. Sephiroth's head snapped in the direction of the rustling, seeing a little gray thing bounding through the grass before stopping a few feet away from them.

It was a squirrel. The creature looked at them warily, wiggling its soft-looking nose and staying still, as if unsure whether to flee or not.

Jenova tugged at Sephiroth's sleeve. "It's like in the books Gast reads for us." She put the flower into her tunic pocket and moved forward towards the animal.

"What are you doing?"

"I wanna catch it. Help me."

"But Hojo will say no."

"But Gast will say yes."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. He wanted to keep the squirrel, too. He and Jenova advanced towards the squirrel, eventually managing to corner it in front of the hard wall separating the parts of the outside world that the gate didn't. The squirrel darted again, but Jenova ran after it before Sephiroth did, catching it in her hands.

"Ow!" Jenova cried, repeatedly screaming when the squirrel scratched at her hands, chest, and stomach in an attempt to break free. Reflexively, Jenova squeezed the creature, popping it and spurting blood on herself and on Sephiroth.

Disbelievingly, they both looked down at what remained. Blood continued to spill in small amounts from the carcass, some things that looked like the insides from the books on 'nadamee' they had peeked through once leaking out from the creature as well.

"What did you do?" Sephiroth asked, still not believing or understanding what had happened.

"I don't know..." Jenova shook her head, and then she began to cry. "I don't know!" she said louder in a distorted voice.

"You killed it!" Sephiroth began to cry, too.

"I didn't mean to! I just wanted to keep it!"

"Keep what?"

The twins froze at the sound of that voice.

"What do you have there?" Hojo inquired, adjusting his glasses.

Jenova recovered from the paralysis and quickly hid the dead squirrel behind her back. Sephiroth quickly said in her defense, "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, boy," Hojo said condescendingly. He stepped closer, wrenching the squirrel from Jenova with his bare hands. "Hmm, interesting."

Sephiroth and Jenova gazed fearfully at the scientist, not knowing how they were going to prepare to face his wrath. Surely he was angry at them?

"I did it," Sephiroth said. "I made it die."

Jenova looked at her brother with shock.

Hojo sneered. "I know it was you who killed it, girl. Tell me, how do you feel about this?" He raised the squirrel to her level, displaying it right in her face like a trophy.

Jenova started to cry again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

This time, Hojo did seem angry. "Remorse? You should not feel any remorse for killing! I want you and Sephiroth to—"

"They will do nothing of the sort!" Gast cut in, appearing in front of the three.

"How do you expect them to be weapons if they feel guilt for doing what they're expected to do?"

"They are _human beings_ , Hojo!"

Sephiroth didn't want to hear the rest of the arguing. He grabbed his sister by her bloody hand and ran inside the mansion, not stopping until they were in their bedroom.

"I'm sorry," she muttered lowly. "I'm sorry."

"It's my fault, too," Sephiroth said. "I'm sorry, too."

Jenova shook her head. "I did it." She sniffed. "It's all my fault."

Sephiroth tried to convince his sister that he was to blame as well, but she insisted that it was all her fault. He hugged her, pressing his stained cheek to hers.

Gast found the two still in that position. He startled them by speaking.

"I'm sorry that your first experience outside went badly." He sighed. "I didn't expect Hojo to want to check on you two, nor did I take the smaller wildlife into account."

"It's my fault!" Jenova wailed.

"No, sweetheart, it's not your fault," Gast said in a comforting tone.

"It's my fault, too," Sephiroth sniffed.

"It's not your fault, either, son." He knelt and placed a hand on both of their shoulders, looking into their eyes. "It was an accident. Do you understand?"

"It's still my fault," Jenova said.

"Mine, too," Sephiroth joined in, still adamant about taking at least part of the blame.

Gast shook his head. "It's not your fault. It was your very first time seeing an animal with your own eyes and you didn't know how fragile life is. It's alright, it's not your fault. Do you understand? Let go of your regret and stop blaming yourselves."

Sephiroth looked up hopefully, but Jenova looked down in shame.

"Please," Gast insisted.

Jenova sniffed one last time. "Okay."

"Thank you," Gast said, sounding like a small weight had been taken off of his shoulders.

* * *

30 April 1970

The day of the move was upon them. Sephiroth and Jenova were escorted to the basement, which wasn't unusual. They had to lay on the examination table, which wasn't unusual, either. What was unusual was the shot injected.

The liquid was clear instead of that sickening green color the twins had come to dread, even hate. They didn't have long to wonder what it was before they found themselves struggling to stay awake, eventually losing the battle and closing their heavy lids.

Professor Gast did not allow anybody to move the children until he was sure that it was safe to do so. The drugged children were placed onto a helicopter, and they were off.

As they entered the Shinra building and moved up to the 67th floor, Gast felt a pang in his heart at the thought of the harsh tests that he had no choice but to help conduct.

For the sake of the project, it was necessary.

* * *

Notes:

Started: 2013年9月22日（日）

Finished: That same day

Wow, this fic has gotten popular! A whopping five followers! That's a lot for something like this. Apologies for the lack of updates. I'd been wanting to start on the next chapter sooner, but updates for the other fics took first priority after a while. ^^;

In the next chapters, there will be the events that will change Sephiroth and Jenova for the worse. Though the very worst is in that date to look forward to.


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